Employee Spotlight: Erin, our Brand Trailblazer

Get ready to meet the creative mind behind Carly's latest big win! We’re excited to introduce you to Erin our Senior Brand Marketing Manager and the driving force behind our recent TV campaign with automotive legend Matthias Malmedie. From her early days at Carly to her latest marketing triumphs, Erin has been pushing boundaries and finding new ways to connect with our audience. Curious about the journey that led to this campaign? Scroll down to explore the exciting milestones and stories that have shaped her path at Carly!        

Your recent TV campaign featuring Matthias Malmedie was a big hit! What inspired you to pursue this collaboration, and how did you envision it elevating the Carly brand?

We wanted to find a partner who really understood Carly and connected with our customers—someone who is not only passionate about cars but also has real experience with them. Matthias was someone we had discussed working with for over a year and a half. He's obviously super well known, and he also knows Carly! Internally, the Automotive team would often suggest him as the ideal collaboration partner.

Once we spoke with him, we knew he was the right fit. Matthias is genuinely passionate about cars and the automotive world, which aligned perfectly with our vision. The goal was to elevate the Carly brand and reach a wider audience, especially within the German-speaking market, and Matthias was the perfect person to help us do that.

With this successful campaign under your belt, what do you see as the next big opportunity or challenge for Carly?

The biggest challenge is always finding new, innovative ways to reach potential customers. Of course, we want to keep growing, but it’s about doing so efficiently and creatively while staying relevant to our target audience. That’s always the balance we’re trying to strike—growth while keeping things interesting for our customers.

You’ve been with Carly for more than 4 years now. What has been the most rewarding aspect of your journey and its evolution?

When I first joined Carly, we were a small team of around 20-30 people, and it’s been amazing to see how we’ve grown into a super international team of over 50 subject matter experts, each incredibly strong in their field. I initially started with a focus on influencer and affiliate management, which at the time was a marketing area that needed more attention and structure. It was like a blank slate that I had the opportunity to shape, set up, and structure from the ground up.

One example is the Carly Trainer program, which transformed into a structured affiliate program for real Carly fans. As a new team member fully focused on this, I was able to give it the dedication it needed. This is one of the positive aspects of working in a startup—you get to try your hand at different things and really make an impact.

Eventually, I moved into Brand Management, which has always been close to my heart, and it’s been rewarding to be part of that journey from the start.

You’ve been part of some transformative changes in our marketing growth. How have your personal experiences shaped the way you approach marketing at Carly?

I brought a lot of what I learned from my previous role as a Social Media Manager, which also involved a subscription model. I applied that experience to how we communicate through those channels, especially in terms of handling all types of feedback—both positive and constructive.

Being a native English speaker, I was the only one when I joined, and I focused heavily on making sure our messaging was clear and engaging to an international audience. At the time, our English website was Carly’s face to the world, and I really put my heart into it. It was tricky to find that middle ground of making content relatable and understandable to a global audience, but it’s something I’m really proud of.

In your role, creativity and strategic thinking go hand in hand. How do you balance innovation with the need to stay true to the brand’s core values and identity?

It’s definitely a balance. Take our recent TV ad with a brand ambassador, for example—creatively, it was a bold step. But we’re also very data-driven, so I had to ask, “How are we going to measure the impact of this campaign?” Defining the success metrics and KPIs was critical.

Our CMO, always pushes us to think about the goal before we move forward: why are we doing this, and how will we measure its success? It’s important to innovate but also to stay aligned with our brand’s core values and make data-driven decisions.

Collaboration is key in marketing. Can you share a memorable experience of working with cross-functional teams or external partners that significantly contributed to a project’s success?

There have been many, but the most recent one that stands out is planning the TV shoot. It took months of preparation, working closely with both internal teams and external partners. We had very specific goals for what we wanted to accomplish, and it involved not just marketing but people from all over the company.

For example, we collaborated with our automotive experts to decide which cars would be featured in the TV spot. Our Motion Designer and I worked closely on the creative side, our CMO, made sure the messaging was spot on for the German market, and we had a long-standing relationship with our external video provider.

It was a huge effort—around 15 people from Carly and our partners were on set that day! It was a long day of shooting, but the results were amazing. And Matthias Malmedie was an absolute professional and a joy to work with.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your younger self when you first began your journey?

From a logistical point of view, I’d tell myself to document everything—including the fun moments! Carly has gone through so many changes, and they’ve all been positive, but it would be nice to have a “mass encyclopedia” of sorts to refer back to for moments like, “When did we change our audience scope?” instead of just searching through old Slack chats!

Also, something our CMO always says—communicate the wins and the misses. You might be aware of everything happening in your own work, but the rest of the team may not be. Keeping everyone involved and informed is so important because, while our work doesn’t always overlap, sharing those wins brings a sense of joy and comfort to the team. It’s not about ego—it’s about sharing the cool things happening in your corner. As women, we often find it difficult to speak openly about our achievements, and this communication approach enables me to open up.

To wrap up, what’s something fun or unique about you that your colleagues might not know, but which reflects your creative spirit?

I think most people know I love karaoke—I've definitely shown that off at a few Carly parties! But that love comes from my background in musical theater, which I did as a kid. I even auditioned for a play right here in Munich before COVID hit and was cast, but then the pandemic put a stop to it. We resumed rehearsals a couple of times, but ultimately, I had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts.

Right now, I’m focused on my German courses, but I’d love to get back into musical theater someday. Carly’s flexibility has really helped me balance language courses with my full-time role, and I appreciate that a lot.

And on a fun note—Carly actually helped me rediscover my love for baking! After receiving great feedback the first time I baked something for the team, I’ve been baking more ever since!

Lastly I just want to add how much I appreciate growing with Carly and the support I’ve received from my lead and team, in my personal and professional growth. It’s made all the difference in how I’ve been able to execute my role in the best way possible.